Saturday, 28 December 2013

I run a weekly Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign, where I am by far the oldest person in the room, and the youngest is 14. Suffice it to say, I have found that experience in playing is the largest determinant as to whether a player prefers old or new school styles.

Prior to choosing DCC RPG as my game of choice, I was working on my own system, which was intended to provide the feel of pulp fiction and pulp fiction characters, but which did not work as well despite being far more "new school" in several respects. There was an initial push against DCC on the basis of (1) character death and (2) lack of customization.

As to the first, the intent of the game is that it begins with a "0-level funnel" in which, say, 16 PCs go in and 4 come out. These become the party of adventurers. As time has gone on, my players have become very adept at using their brains rather than their die rolls to survive even these lethal challenges, with the result that they are choosing their primary characters out of a pool of seconds. Also, the funnel has changed from a "let's see who dies in interesting ways" exercise to a "let's see how many we can keep alive" exercise. It is a battle of wits and luck, and it is a lot of fun.

As to the second, DCC RPG has a "Quest for It" ethos that says you can customize your character however you like, but you must seek out and accomplish the means to do this. One strikingly cool way ties back into the 0-level funnel - by playing certain funnels, you can emerge with unique character types. For example, I have run The Albuquerque Starport as a funnel with great success - several surviving PCs then becoming mutants. This need not end with the funnel - Stars in the Darkness (3rd level) offers replacement characters (for those whose PCs die) from another universe. In an old-school game, customization occurs through recognizing and seizing opportunities, or through seeking them out. It is not the result of mere selection from a menu.

On the other hand, while I agree fully that s/he who runs the game is the absolute master of the game, I also agree that, if that person is not running a game you enjoy, you should not be playing in it. If you are in, IMHO, you should accept that the person running the game has ultimate authority, and do so with good grace. If you are not in, IMHO, you should be fully not in and not whine that the person is not running the game you want. Run it yourself, if you can find that game no other way. Not surprisingly, this is pretty much the advice Mr. Gygax gives players in the 1e PHB.

As an easy example of this, if you are going to fudge while running your game, I would prefer to do something else. However, as much as I dislike fudging, I will also absolutely support your right to do so, should that be what you want, and should you be able to find even a single player who wants the same. That's fair in my book; we all get to seek out the game we want.

I have found that, where menu options are available, players focus more on building characters and less on game play. Game play is almost a test of the build, rather than the focus of the game. OTOH, when building characters occurs only as the result of game play, the game takes on a vibrancy that otherwise does not exist. Your table may differ.

I have also found that, where options exist not as a process of the game milieu, but as a result of menus, players tend to focus on outlandish options to the detriment of the game milieu overall. In some games, a "kitchen sink" approach may work well; in many, it becomes difficult to explain why a Jedi, a gold dragon, a LEGO man, an alternate universe version of Ghandi, and a Teletubby ranger are exploring the World's Largest Dungeon together. Such things may be fun on one level, but they lack the cohesiveness that makes a game last IME.

(As a point of fact, when I ran the World's Largest Dungeon with the d20 System books opened wide for players to make full use of the menus, only one of those example characters did not appear. That particular campaign did not last long, as the players recognized the inherent silliness of adventuring like this. It is worth noting that, for the majority, it was not their own character who was perceived as the problem, or part of the problem, so much as the wonkiness of the other players' characters. There is a lesson to be learned there, I am certain.)

What all this rambling comes down to may be that the new-school style is easier to play, in that the options are based upon known quantities rather than uncovering the unknowns of the game milieu, but I find the old-school style more rewarding overall due to exactly the same factors - exploration of the milieu is not rewarded in gold and XP alone, but also by additional options for the characters (and players) bold enough to dare, lucky enough to succeed, and intelligent enough to understand.

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Santa Claus makes a brief cameo in Philp
José Farmer’s Dark is the Sun, a novel
which takes place at the end of the universe’s lifespan. The earth is very old, and changed, having
been shifted and saved many times by now-forgotten technologies. Travelling across the world, the party
discovers an ancient House:

The man sat stiffly, upright, unmoving,
staring straight ahead.

Deyv had a creepy feeling that the man was
looking into eternity. Perhaps into
infinity.

He wore a cap of scarlet edged with white
fur. Its long tasselled top lay behind
his head against the back of the chair. Under
it was a broad round face, red-nosed, red-cheeked, red-lipped. The thick eyebrows were white, as was the
long hair flowing from under the cap.A long and thick white beard fell over a
large round paunch to the belt-line. His
jacket was scarlet, edged with white fur.
His belt was wide and black. His pants
were scarlet. His calf-length boots were
scarlet with white fur around the tops. On
the third finger of his left hand was a simple gold ring.“It certainly looks lifelike,” Sloosh
said. “It must be made of the same
material as The House, though.”“I am not sure that it’s just a statue,”
The Shemibob said.Deyv felt like leaving at once. If he’d been alone, he might have. However, if that had been the case, he wouldn’t
have thought that it might be other than a figure made by the ancients.“Why do you say that?” Sloosh asked.“There’s no dust on it. Also…”She swung the device so that they could see
the floor in front of the block. There were
footprints in the dust. They led away
from the and to the block.

There is a bit more, of course, but it is a
seasonal bit from an Appendix N author that, if you haven’t yet discovered, you
may find in Chapter 40 (page 347 on my second printing edition). Compare the description with Clement Clark Moore's classic, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas:

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a
cherry.His droll little mouth was drawn up like a
bow,and the beard on his chin was as white as
the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his
teeth,and the smoke it encircled his head like a
wreath.He had a broad face and a little round
bellythat shook when he laughed like a bowlfull
of jelly.

From
where within the strange depths of space and time sprang the strange
creatures known as the Brotherhood of Ten Wizards none can say. Each appears swathed in an illusion of
being a humanoid figure, whose features are hidden by a dark-shadowed cowl,
in which a number of glowing and moving eyes – seemingly upon stalks or
tentacles – are all that can be seen.
Those who have penetrated even part of this illusion tell of disquieting
spider-like beings, although they seem keen to protect the dominion of men
and the integrity of worlds.

There
are only ten of these beings known, and each has a different number of
apparent eyes, from none to nine. The
Eyeless Brother and the Brother of the Nine-Eyed Face are said to be the most
powerful among them, but Belshar of the Five Eyes may be deemed a worthy
patron in his own right. Like his
brethren, he seeks out good-hearted wizards and other champions, who he seeks
to position to the benefit of his chosen milieu. Many of the Ten enjoy meddling with each
other, and Belshar of the Five Eyes is known to have such a relationship with
both Mungblesh of the Three Eyes and desert-dwelling Jawag of the Two Eyes
(who is perhaps the most normal-appearing of the Ten, although also the
shortest).

It
is not unknown for each of these three to act as patron for three members of
the same party, delighting in setting the sponsored wizards and elves against
each other in minor ways for their own amusement.

The
ceremony for Belshar of the Five Eyes may take place in any large urban area.

Invoke Patron
check results:

12-13

The
caster hears the dry, thin voice of his patron, encouraging him to his best
endeavour, for no other aid is forthcoming.
This encouragement can be used to recall one lost spell to the
caster’s mind, or to give the caster a +4 bonus on a single die roll, but not
both.

14-17

Belshar
has a moment to spare for the caster, and will psychically give the caster
advice regarding his current situation, or a known situation that is
upcoming. While Belshar does not have
as full a knowledge as the judge, he has broad knowledge about many subjects,
and can generally offer some hidden information or excellent advice. The nature of the advice should be
determined both by the questions the caster asks, and Belshar’s
motivations…which sometimes include his own amusement. At the judge’s discretion, this advice can
give a total bonus of no more than +8, to be split among one or more die
rolls related to the advice given.

18-19

Belshar
grants the caster a single-use magic item, such as a scroll or a potion, to
aid him in his current quest. This
item is chosen for its usefulness, and can be as powerful as the judge
desires. For example, Belshar may
offer a scroll that slays all other wizards within a mile radius, or a potion
that can shrink the caster to a size needed to enter a maze of rat’s
tunnels. These are intended to be
useful, but may result in amusing circumstances, as the Ten work to entertain
themselves as well as to aid the multiverse.

20-23

The
Five-Eyed One places some importance on the caster, or on the mission the
caster is currently engaged in, and sends strong encouragement and an
exhortation for the caster to succeed.
This is so encouraging that the caster immediately gains 5d4+CL bonus
hit points. All future damage comes
from these hit points first, but damage already taken is unaffected. Bonus hit points cannot be healed. At the end of CLd6 x 10 minutes, whatever
bonus hit points remain fade away.

24-27

Direct
Intervention! Belshar takes control of
the caster, and casts a spell through him using his next Action Die. This spell is cast with a +8 bonus on the
spell check, and is determined randomly.
It does not matter if the spell caster cannot cast the spell, and
there is no penalty (corruption or patron taint) to the caster for failure. The spell otherwise acts as though the
caster had cast it. Roll 1d5: (1) choking cloud, (2) colour spray, (3)
enlarge, (4) magic missile, or (5) magic shield.

28-29

Direct
Intervention! Belshar takes control of
the caster, and casts a spell through him using his next Action Die. This spell is cast with a +10 bonus on the
spell check, and is determined randomly.
It does not matter if the spell caster cannot cast the spell, and
there is no penalty (corruption or patron taint) to the caster for failure. The spell otherwise acts as though the
caster had cast it. Roll 1d5: (1) invisibility, (2) mirror image, (3)
monster summoning, (4) spider web, or (5) strength.

30-31

Direct
Intervention! Belshar takes control of
the caster, and casts a spell through him using his next Action Die. This spell is cast with a +12 bonus on the
spell check, and is determined randomly.
It does not matter if the spell caster cannot cast the spell, and
there is no penalty (corruption or patron taint) to the caster for failure. The spell otherwise acts as though the
caster had cast it. Roll 1d5: (1) fly, (2) gust of wind, (3) haste, (4)
lightning bolt, or (5) planar step.

32+

Eyes
From the Overworld. A thousand
thousand glowing eyes emerge from some celestial overworld or another plane
of the multiverse, surrounding the caster and up to CL allies within 100’ of
the caster, protecting them from all harm and shielding them from all effects
within the plane the caster currently inhabits. The eyes transport the caster and his
affected allies up to 10 miles through the overworld, emerging at a place
chosen by the caster (or a random location if the caster does not
choose). The characters have CL rounds
before they are transported to use spells or other means to aid themselves
while so protected. Once the
characters re-emerge, the eyes fade back to the overworld.

Patron Taint: Belshar of the Five Eyes

Dealing
with Belshar is more annoying than corrupting, and most of the patron taint
associated with the Brotherhood of Ten Wizards results from this. Once all patron taints at all levels have
been attained, the caster need not roll for patron taint in the future. In addition, the caster gains a +5 bonus on
all future rolls to determine corruption.

Roll

Result

1

Irritation: So irritating is Belshar’s sense of humour
that it can become difficult to call upon him. When this is first rolled, the caster must
succeed in a DC 10 Will save to cast invoke
patron to call upon Belshar. If
rolled a second time, the DC raises to 15.
If rolled a third time, the DC raises to 20. Ignore all future rolls.

2

Spying Eyes: When this patron taint is rolled, a glowing
eye appears on a random part of the caster’s body, as determined below. Although the eye is not functional for the
character, it is an extension of Belshar’s eyes, and the patron can observe
through them if he so wishes. Once
this is rolled five times, ignore all future rolls. To determine eye location, roll 1d12: (1) right hand, (2) left hand, (3)
forehead, (4) back of the head, (5) chin, (6) chest, (7) back, (8) right
knee, (9) left knee, (10) right foot, (11) left foot, or (12) nose.

3

Mission: Belshar sends the caster on a mission to
defend the integrity of the local world or the multiverse. When this is first rolled, the mission
requires the caster to travel no more than 1d5 hours, and requires the caster
to defeat a minor threat whose Hit Dice are no more than the caster’s Caster
Level (and are likely to be 1d3 less).
When this is rolled a second time, the threat is equal to the caster’s
Caster Level, and the caster must travel no more than 1d5 days to meet this
threat. When this is rolled a third time,
the threat is equal to the caster’s Caster Level +1d5, and the caster may be
required to travel up to 1d5 weeks, or to another plane of existence, to meet
it. Once all three threats have been
neutralized, ignore future rolls of this taint.

4

Amusement: This seems similar to a mission, as of on a
role of “3”, above, but when the caster encounters the supposed foe, it turns
out to be a joke of Belshar’s. The
danger may be real, but the caster may find himself opposing a friend,
discover that the adventure revolves around some horrid pun, or is otherwise
designed for the amusement of the Brotherhood of Ten Wizards. This can only be rolled three times, as
with “mission”, above.

5

Lecture: Belshar calls the caster to hear a lecture
on some boring subject. The first time
this happens, the caster must travel for 1d5 x 10 minutes to attend Belshar,
and must succeed in a DC 10 Will save, or he will fall asleep, and must
repeat this level of patron taint before proceeding to the next when it is
rolled again. The next level of patron
taint requires the caster to travel 1d5 hours out of his way, and requires a
DC 15 Will save to stay awake. The
third (and final) level requires a DC 20 Will save and takes the character
1d5 days out of his way. Although boring,
each of these lectures has some relevance to events in the campaign milieu,
or to the current adventure, and the caster gains a +4 bonus to a die roll of
his choice in the next 24 hours if he manages to stay awake, as it pertains
to the point Belshar was belabouring.

6

Mungblesh and
Jawag: If it is not enough to deal with Belshar’s
sense of humour, the caster must also deal with the mad comedy of Mungblesh
and Jawag. Each time this patron taint
is rolled, Belshar’s rivals play some dark joke on the caster, which is not
intended to be deadly, but will make the caster’s life harder in some
way. The judge is encouraged to come
up with the most twisted jests he can, and play them out against the caster in addition to the normal encounters
of a given adventure. This patron
taint can only be rolled five times; ignore additional rolls.

Patron
Spells: Belshar of the Five Eyes

Belshar grants three unique spells, as follows:

Level 1: Belshar’s Unwinking Eye.

Level 2: Belshar’s All-Seeing Eye.

Level 3: Belshar’s Rays of Burning Sight.

Spellburn: Belshar
of the Five Eyes

Belshar
does not approve of spellburn, and grants it only reluctantly. When a caster utilizes spellburn, roll 1d4
on the table below, or build off the ideas presented therein to create an
event specific to your home campaign.

Roll

Spellburn Result

1

Belshar
is repulsed by the idea of spellburn, and does not grant it at this
time. Unless the caster has another
patron to call upon, he cannot utilize spellburn for the next hour.

2

Belshar
reluctantly agrees to grant spellburn, but will grant no more than 5
points. The caster’s soul is connected
to a benign overworld, which drains his energy (manifesting as Strength,
Agility, or Stamina loss).

3

Belshar
grants the effect of 1d5 points of spellburn without cost. Unless the caster has another patron to
call upon, he cannot utilize spellburn for the next 1d5 hours.

4

Belshar
grants the effect of 1d5 points of spellburn without cost. Unless the caster has another patron to
call upon, he cannot utilize spellburn for the next 1d5 days.

An adventure for 6 to 10 characters of levels 2 to 4. Taking place in the tropical setting of Praeder Island, the players will have to brave the harsh wilderness, battle reptile ghuls and uncover a new patron, The Queen of Abominations.

The Mysterious Valley - Daniel J. Bishop

An adventure intended for use as a mini-sandbox. Inspired by the works of the late Ray Harryhausen, the players will learn of the wizard Harhasen. With laboratories beneath his tower, he bred monsters from both Men and Animals.

The Snow Queen - Garett Oliver

An adventure for 4 to 8 4th level characters, or 4 to 6 6th level characters.

The City of Thalos, built by Elves, was said to be the City of Eternity. The city that was lost under ice, has now been unearthed by Dwarves. The players must now battle both foes and the winter climate to uncover the mystery of The Snow Queen.

The Barbarian - Godric McKellan

A new warrior inspired class for DCC RPG, The Barbarian offers players an alternative to the warrior class.

Converting Material to Dungeon Crawl Classics - Daniel J. Bishop

Want to run that favorite module for DCC RPG? Well now you can! Daniel offers the tools you need to convert material from other systems for use in DCC RPG.

Monday, 16 December 2013

At the waning of every year, as the sun grows closer to the horizon, and spends less time in the sky, there comes a time of terrible cold and deep snow to the lands of the north. The world waits with hushed breath for this, the longest night of the year, to be over. Soon, the sun will begin to climb higher each day, and the days grow longer. Although long stretches of cold weather are yet to come, this is the night in which winter’s back is broken. After tonight, the world turns slowly back to warmth and light. But that is after tonight.Perils of the Cinder Claws presents two holiday-themed adventures, The Thing in the Chimney (1st level) and The Nexus of Yule (3rd level), as well as the Cinder Claws himself as a potential patron (complete except spells).

Wednesday, 11 December 2013

I hate to
speak ill of a project that I am involved with.I think that the reasons for that are fairly obvious.But at some point, one has to take a hard
look at the landscape. So today we’re going to look at the Indiegogo campaign
for Angels,
Daemons, & Beings Between. This is a hard post to write, because I
don’t want to appear unprofessional, but neither do I want to become part of a conspiracy
of silence while you wait and wait without any word as to what is happening.

hi all it is with great pleasure
that i can tell you that everything has been dispatched.It should be with you
by Christmas.

Sorry for the delays at the end
but it will be worth the wait.

Thank you all for your support
and we all look forward to your feedback.

If you do not not have your order
by Christmas Day please email me directly to update me. Sean.connors68@me.com

Many many thanks

Sean Connors

There are
a lot of questions about these materials, and I cannot find any reference to
anyone have received these after this message.
I should have received two copies of all materials as part of my payment
for involvement in the project, and as of this writing, I have received
nothing.

I wrote
the majority of Angels, Daemons, & Beings Between (although not necessarily
the best entries – Paul Wolfe may well get that credit!), contributed some
artwork, wrote and formatted The Revelation of Mulmo, and wrote Pesh
Joomang, The Ultimate Patron. In
order to create the best product possible, I took a pay cut on Angels,
and took no money for the module, art, or Pesh Joomang. Actually, I paid out of pocket to increase
the amount of artwork in The Revelation of Mulmo.

Now, as
far as The Revelation of Mulmo goes, I received a number of requests
to reformat to fit to A4 size paper and with different “bleeds” to meet printer
needs. One result of this is that I feel
fairly confident that printing was, at the very least, intended, and that
whatever difficulties may have arisen probably occurred at the mailing level.

I am told
that Sean is no longer answering emails from those who funded the project. I have sent him emails related to the
project, including one containing the text of this blog post to give him a
chance to respond. That email was sent
48 hours ago, and Sean has not responded.

I very
much dislike being involved with a project that disappoints those who invest in
it. As some of you know, I have worked
with John Adams to add materials to
his own Brave Halfling kickstarter
when it was foundering, because John was adamant that he would make things
right for supporters. I respect
that. At some point, I may wish to use
Indiegogo to fund my own Shanthopal
project, or similar work. I don’t want
my name tarnished by association.

I
guarantee you that I will not initiate a crowd-funded project unless 80% or
more of the writing is done, and that the crowd-funding would be used primarily
for maps and cartography. Well, as well
as to help pay myself or other writers for work already done.

I cannot
make print copies of the Angels project appear…even if I had
the funds to do so, the legal rights remain with Dragon’s Hoard Publishing.
If you were one of the funders of this project, please drop me an email
at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com, and I will do what I can to help restore
your faith in the creators, if not in the publisher.

Monday, 9 December 2013

Okay, if you
are looking to get into Dungeon Crawl Classics, or are just
considering what 0-level funnel to run for a new or existing group, you have a
lot of choices. Which is right for you?

Well, I can’t
tell you which is right for you. What I
can do is try to rank the funnels against my own personal tastes and
experiences. The following list does not
include Prince Charming, Reanimator (Purple Duck Games) or The
Arwich Grinder (Craw! Fanzine), because I wrote them. If I have forgotten any published 0-level
funnel, please drop me a note to remind me, and I will try to slot them in the
appropriate place.

There is no
intention to imply that any of the following funnels are bad. Nor is my ordering necessarily going to agree
with the way anyone else would order these adventures. There is no A-list, B-list, etc. Anything that gets past the Goodman Games DCC
Licensing process has already met a high bar.
But, if you are thinking of purchasing a new funnel, and for some unknown
reason you aren’t purchasing one of mine (lol), here’s my rundown.

Sailors
on the Starless Sea (Goodman Games):
This is still the iconic funnel adventure in the list, with lots of
action, real strangeness, and an Appendix N feel that is hard to beat. For any other game, this would be a
high-level adventure.

Frozen
in Time (Goodman Games):
Explicitly playable as both a 1st level adventure or a
0-level funnel, this is a very, very close second, and on some days I might put
it first.

The
Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk (Purple Sorcerer): In turns Lovecraftian and farcical, and
successful at both, this module combines social interaction, wilderness, and
dungeon. It is also our first
introduction to the Mist Men, which is worth the cost of the module all by
itself.

A
Gathering of the Marked (Purple Sorcerer): The longest funnel to date, this is slightly
less effective than Ooze Pits, it is certainly has the potential to be a darker,
and more character-defining experience for the PCs.

Any one of
these four could easily have taken the #1 spot, and, no doubt, half the people
reading this think that I have these four adventures completely out of order. The remaining modules are also good, but not
quite as good. Each of them, for
different reasons, feels like the beginning of an adventure, to me, rather than
a complete arc. Which is okay, because
these adventures also give you some real ideas as to what events might follow
the 0-level funnel.

Perils
of the Sunken City (Purple Sorcerer Games): The actual funnel is Madazkan’s Court, and it is a great deal of fun.

In
the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer (Mystic Bull; part of the In the Prison of the
Squid Sorcerer compilation):A
nautical theme, an interesting locale, pirates, and Cthulhu. This funnel seems more like Lin Carter at his
best than it does Lovecraft or Howard, but I like it.

The
Witch of Wydfield (Brave Halfling):
She’s a witch! Burn her! This funnel makes good use of what might seem
a real possibility in the lives of villagers in a DCC world. The events therein could easily be part of a
Poul Anderson novel.

The
Portal Under the Stars (Goodman Games; part of the Core Rulebook): There is a lot of good about this funnel, and
a lot of the areas are themselves interesting, but the whole does not hang
together as well as the previously ranked funnels. There are a lot of Appendix N bits, which is
great, and a lot of opportunity for PCs to do the right or the wrong thing,
which is also great, but to me it did not jell as well as it could have.

The
Ruins of Ramat (Brave Halfling):
As we get to the end of my list, I would like to emphasize again that I
am putting great material in order, not ordering from great to mediocre. The
Ruins of Ramat has a lot going for it, but there were a few things that I
thought kept it from a higher ranking.
First, the descriptions did not always match the visual aids. Second, the khopesh swords have no damage
listed. Finally, I dislike the way
D&D has handled confusion, and one encounter in this module relies upon the
same handling. That said, when I ran
this module, a lot of fun was had. The
confusion bit was the only really questionable bit, and it can be fixed by
treating the confusion descriptively, allowing the players to decide not to
make attacks at shadows, and then allowing those shadows to attack them! After than, any PC who attacks a shadow has
an equal chance to target a friendly or enemy figure.

Attack
of the Frawgs (Thick Skull):
This funnel is hampered by a somewhat linear nature, and by lingering
unanswered questions. For one-shots with
a time limit, though, it easily jumps upwards to the top three.

The
Long Sleep (Mystic Bull; part of the In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer
compilation):Again, nothing
wrong with the funnel, but it is a bit short and linear. On the other hand, if you picked this up, you
have two funnels and a whole lot of additional material to play with. I ran this as a side quest with 1st
level PCs; it is a pretty fast playing adventure, and would work well for a
pick-up game at a convention.

Remember
that many older modules can be converted to 0-level funnels. TSR-era
and WotC-era D&D modules are the
obvious choices, but writing stats for DCC is pretty easy, and you should
consider converting modules for different systems, such as Gamma World, Traveller,
MERP, Space 1889, and Stormbringer. The results are worth the effort.

I would like to hear how you rate these funnels, what other adventures you have used, and where you think my own work slots in.

Friday, 22 November 2013

Every so often, the old question rises
again: should the GM ever fudge? In examining this question, I am going to
define fudging as changing the outcome of die rolls, or the meaning
of their outcome, during the course of actual play.

It is pretty easy to understand what is
meant by changing the outcome of die rolls:
If you roll 2d6 for damage, and 12 comes up, but you say “10” instead,
you have changed the outcome of die rolls.

Changing the meaning of the outcome
works like this: The opponent had 12 hit
points, the player rolled a “12” on damage, but rather than have the meaning
of the roll (opponent dies) play through, the GM changes the opponent’s
hit points, or gives him a special ability, or does something else behind the
scenes so that the opponent does not die, but can follow a
script which more closely adheres to the GM’s expectations or idea of “fun”. The meaning of the roll’s outcome within
the context of the game has changed.

People can fall on either side of the “fudging”
debate, and many people are divided in how they feel , but I have never
encountered any single instance where I think the game would be improved by
fudging.

Some debunking:

"Now it doesn't matter what I roll!"

Not fudging makes the GM a slave to
the dice.

No.
The GM chooses when the dice are rolled, and chooses what dice are
rolled. The dice are still a tool; the
only thing that changes is that the GM is firm in his decision to use that tool
and brave enough to abide by the results, even if they throw him “off script”.

Fudging is the same as prep work.

No.
Prep work – including “on the fly” decisions that the GM has to make to
supply unexpected information within the scenario – is part of
world-building. World-building presupposes
a world in which the players can make decisions, and world-building within the
context of a game presupposes that those decisions matter. Prep work supplies the context for
decision-making, and has nothing to do with fudging.

Fudging is a good tool for developing
GMs to learn the trade.

I strongly disagree.

Consider a case where the GM decides that
Trap A does 3d6 damage, and that 3d6 damage is rolled with a result of 18 against
a character with 14 hp. In this
particular case, having the PC die is not “on script” for the GM – it throws
his “plot” off the rails.

In the case where the GM does not fudge, he
learns to adapt to new situations, and he learns that throwing the plot off the
rails is what players do. It
is what makes their choices meaningful.
He also learns that he needs to consider the possible effects of
anything he throws into the game – if he does not want PCs to die from a failed
save, for example, he should not include save-or-die effects. By seeing the outcome of unexpected game
events, his understanding of what can happen is increased.

In the case where the GM fudges, he learns
that changing the die roll can keep his adventure on the rails, negating the
effects of player choice. He learns that
prep work is not really important – he can just change stuff mid-stream. He does not develop anything outside his
comfort zone, as game events cannot take him there, and he reinforces his “plot”
over the tapestry of context, choice, and consequence which the game becomes
without fudging.

I only fudge when it is important.

Then you are fudging at the worst possible
time.

When it is important is when player choices
matter the most, and you are removing the ability of your players to have their
characters succeed or fail by those choices.

I only fudge when it is not
important.

If it is not important, why not let the
roll stand? Why are you even rolling at
all?

It doesn’t hurt the players if they
don’t know.

Consider trying to learn chess, where your
uncle keeps letting you win no matter how poorly you move. If you think your uncle is doing his best, it
might make you think that you are a great chess player. But it will quickly prove otherwise when you
play someone who isn’t handing you the game.

Did your uncle’s “kindness” in letting you
win help you or hurt you?

So too with the fudging GM.

It’s the same as when you roll a die to make something appear random when it is not.

No it is not.

Imagine a scenario where the GM knows there is no secret door, and rolls the die. The meaning of the outcome (no meaning) is known prior to the roll. The GM is not changing that meaning. The GM is not changing the roll. No fudging is occurring.

It’s my game and I can do what I
want.

Yes.
Yes, it is. And if you can find
even one player who wants the same thing, you should play the game that you
want to play.

But let me quote Mr. Joseph Goodman, if I may, on page 314 of the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook:

Always roll your dice in public. "Let the dice fall where they may," as the saying goes. The players will learn fear, as they trust in the objectivity of your combat encounters.

Let the characters die if the dice so dictate it. Nothing is as precious as a PC's life when it can be taken away - and nothing is so unchallenging as a game where the players know the judge will not kill their characters.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

As mentioned on Spellburn, I have a "peasant deed" rule in my game, in which any character can attempt a minor "Mighty Deed of Arms" by rolling 1d6 with the attack roll. If the attack hits, and the d6 comes up "6" the deed succeeds in a minor way. The initial plan was, of course, to allow any character to do cool things, without overshadowing the warrior and dwarf.Sometimes, though, a player will want to "spam" the peasant deed. As a result of this, I have modified the rule as follows:

Any character can have one "free" peasant deed each combat.

Thereafter, the attack roll when attempting a peasant deed diminishes by -1d on the dice chain each time a peasant deed is attempted in that combat.

The purpose here is to ensure that a mechanic for "cool moves" exists for everyone, and that the baker can still push a skeleton in the pit, without making it "I Deed to blind" and "I Deed to trip" for every character with every swing.

Saturday, 16 November 2013

At some point, it has become very difficult
to write these things. Not because there
are not enough cool products for the DCC RPG – there are plenty of those!
– but because I have become involved in some capacity with so many of the
publishers. This makes it very difficult
indeed to ensure objectivity, or even the appearance thereof.

You can take that all with a grain of salt,
though, because I am talking about what I like, what I don’t like, and what I
think works or does not. There's a lot of subjectivity involved in blogging anyway.

The wizards in Appendix N are a varied lot, and there is seldom any explanation
given for the strangeness of their appearances or ways. The Emerald Enchanter, by Joseph
Goodman, is the first DCC module to feature a wizard not as one of several
NPCs, but as a primary antagonist.

There
are also some innovative monsters, which demonstrate how creatures in Dungeon
Crawl Classics don’t necessarily follow the normal rules. Players who are expecting to merely slog through the encounters using sword and spell to defeat everything that comes their way are going to be re-educated in the way DCC works – something that more DCC adventures (including my own!) should be using.

The titular Emerald Enchanter supplies a
complex set-piece climax that might include a full-on spell duel, making this
the first DCC product geared toward doing so.

Finally, a close reading of the text
indicates what the Emerald Enchanter’s patron has done for him, and should
suggest how a patron relationship might benefit the PCs as well. In DCC, “NPCs are different”, and the judge
can and should consider the NPC’s relationship with any patron in a “mechanics agnostic”
mode while writing. The Emerald Enchanter
certainly shows this, and makes good use of the DCC rules framework and
philosophy.

I have yet to run this one, but it reads as
a solid adventure that should be fun to run/play through, and I look forward to eventually folding it into my own campaign.

Thursday, 14 November 2013

There’s an owl in the wellOne-two-threeThere’s an owl in the wellOne-two-threeOld owl in the wellWon’t catch me!

Silent Nightfall, the most recent of the CE series, is now available at RPG Now. This was playtested by a crew starring Jen Brinkman, the First Acolyte and Unofficial High Priestess of the Spellburn podcast.

There is a lot going on in the 21 pages of content (not counting the OGL), and, as is the norm for Purple Duck's DCC materials, all text is OGC.

There are often periods of greater or lesser magical influence in the world. Millennia ago, during a period of reduced magical activity, there was a nuclear power station at this location. When magical influences began to spread once more, the nuclear core became unstable, and began to develop a form of malevolent sentience. The ancients placed the core in a shaft three miles deep, the last 500 feet of which were filled with heavy water. This shaft, and its attendant control center, were given the codename “Silent Nightfall”.

In the ages since, much of the complex has collapsed or ceased to function, but the main shaft still remains, going three miles deep into the ground. The rooms that remain have undergone great changes, having been used for many different purposes and by many different creatures over the centuries. As a result, the original purpose of the shaft, rooms, and corridors has become
obscured.

Silent Nightfall is usable with characters from level 2 and up in a campaign setting, but players may find parts of it extremely challenging, so judges - know your players! Includes appendixes on Aberrations (including 5 new monsters and a random table!), Demi-patrons, Languages, and the Radiant Brotherhood, I hope you will find this one a great value for your game!

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

FT0: Prince Charming, Reanimator, is now available in Print on Demand format. That is all.Well, actually, it turns out to be a little bit more difficult than expected. Apparently, adding a print-on-demand option to a pay-what-you-want product turns the PWYW off. So, slogging through the PITA work involved, Mark Gedak has created two listings.GO HERE if you want a pdf copy of Prince Charming, Reanimator on a PWYW basis.GO HERE if you want a print copy of Prince Charming, Reanimator.This is not as elegant as having a single listing, and it might be a bit more confusing than necessary, but until RPGnow finds a way around this issue, that's what we're stuck with.Meanwhile, I am hard at work on FT1: Creeping Beauties of the Woods.

Now, as luck would have it, I had a chance to run a party through FT0 recently, and I have to admit that, in this case, I was shocked at how well they did against my little death trap....er, character funnel. I guess that's what happens when you roll high initiatives, multiple 20s, and everyone makes their save against breath weapon. Oh well, Rosie we hardly knew ye.........

ANOTHER UPDATE: Mark Gedak just let me know that Purple Duck's DCC and Pathfinder material will be 50% off from NOW until 18 November at RPG Now!

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Silent Nightfall, the latest in the CE Series, has entered its layout, art, and playtest phase. Please note the request for playtesters two blog posts down....could you be one of the first people to see this material?

Silent nightfall, now to bed

A rushlight to ward your way

Hush now child, cry not child

They listen to find their prey

Through forest they come

Down dark streets they glide

O my children lie silent

We are all safe inside

I am not 100% sure that this is just "placer art", because of the nature of the Campaign Element. This may be the creepiest, and the most useful, Campaign Element yet, with four appendixes that help you maximize your usage of the material presented!Purple Duck’s Adventure Locations are perfect for dropping into any ongoing campaign. With some slight alteration, they can also be used as a story arc, spanning five or six adventures running from 1st to 3rd level.

Here is your chance to pick up Bone Hoard of the Dancing Horror and Sepulcher of the Mountain God (by Paul Wolfe) in print, with a short introductory section that describes how to use AL 1 to 5 as a single campaign arc.

I am also currently working on FT 1: Creeping Beauties of the Wood for Purple Duck Games, and a new Adventure Location. So keep your eye on the Duck; there's a lot more coming!

If you live in the Toronto area, you are probably aware of Casa Loma, "Canada's Majestic Castle" created by Sir Henry Pellatt. It includes two secret passages and an 800-foot tunnel beneath the street from the castle proper to the coachhouse.What you may not be aware of is that you can rent rooms in Casa Loma now for various functions.Take a look at those room rates for a minute. They're actually pretty reasonable for the chance to run a faery-tale based game of DCC in a freaking castle!

Casa Loma closed at the end of October, and reopens in May. The prices are reasonable. By that time, FT 0, FT 1, FT 2....maybe even as far as FT 5 should be out. Now, I don't know how fast we could burn through those modules in a single game date, but it would be as cool as hell to try.The Austin Room is $250 plus taxes, which should mean $285, and seats 8 people. Just under $36 a head, including the judge. If there are enough people interested by the spring to do this, I will contact Casa Loma and make the arrangements.

During breaks, or between adventures, folks could wander into the secret passages and down the tunnel, or climb up a tower.It would be awesome!

I have some upcoming materials that I need some help getting playtested.The first up is CE 5: Silent Nightfall, appropriate for 2nd level characters (although usable at a much wider range). I can send you the materials now, if you can get me a list of playtesters and some feedback no later than the 11th of November. Next up is a Mystery Project, which I hope to have ready for playtest no later than the 6th, but which I will need feedback on by the 14th. This is the same project which was mentioned on Spellburn.After this, I expect FT 1: Creeping Beauties of the Wood to require playtesting. And there is more coming, so if you want some playtest credits, email me at ravencrowking at hotmail dot com.Thanks!

Friday, 1 November 2013

Halloween is my favourite day of the year. Better than my birthday (especially as I get
older!). Better than Christmas. Better than many other days of the year where
I actually get the day off. It is not
the costumes (although those are fun). It is not even the candy. It is that Halloween is the last holiday we
have that actually builds community.

Think about it.

In the old days, every holiday was a reason to greet your
neighbours and mingle with those you might not otherwise see. Carolling and wassailing meant going door-to-door. You might even exchange gifts. Easter meant egg hunts in public spaces. We still have parades, but in most
communities parades are more spectator sport than interactive event.

So, feel good about throwing yourself into the holiday. Dress up when you take your kids
trick-or-treating. Make your house spook
central. And be glad that we still have
one day to build community, because most of the social forces in our current
culture are more interested in tearing community down.

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